Yasin Gungor
18 March 2025•Update: 18 March 2025
ISTANBUL
A "targeted" attack on a Tesla sales center in US city of Las Vegas on Tuesday left multiple vehicles damaged, with at least two engulfed in flames.
Authorities believe the suspect, dressed in black, used Molotov cocktails and a firearm to carry out the assault at around 2:45 am local time (0945GMT).
At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in "at least three rounds" of firings and the word “resist” was spray-painted on the business’s front doors, said Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) in a news conference.
An unignited Molotov cocktail was also found in one of the vehicles.
Koren said it was a "targeted attack" but they believe that it was isolated and there is not any further threat to the general public.
He said, as a precaution, they have increased police presence at Tesla locations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk condemned the attack on X, calling it “insane and deeply wrong.” He emphasized that Tesla, as an electric vehicle manufacturer, “has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”
The attack is part of a wave of attacks targeting Tesla facilities, driven by backlash against Musk’s political activities, including his role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump vowed to labeled such violence as domestic terrorism and threatened perpetrators of consequences.
Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a warning to Tesla vandals, saying, “If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re coming after you.”
